Smirk
by GreyGold
Summary: Her smirk was dusty gold and Urahara couldn't resist.


_**Fell in love with Yoruichi and Urahara. The plot may not be completely loyal to the canon since I haven't watched or read Bleach in its entirety.**_

_**Reviews would be great.**_

**Bleach**_** belongs to Tite Kubo.**_

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><p>Urahara could hardly place what it was that had always drawn him toward Yoruichi. Maybe it was her skill, her mysterious title when he was boy. Maybe it was her purple hair. Hell, maybe it was because she was his rival and he hated to see that smirk. Yes, it was that smirk that drew him to her, that grin that made his heart tremble.<p>

Yoruichi had been gone for almost two months now. She'd left in early fall, in the beginning of September, and now it was nearing the cold barren reaches of winter and she still hadn't turned up again. It normally wouldn't have bothered him that she wasn't there, especially after she'd been gone for a year once to train and discover the world for herself. Why she hadn't brought him along then always puzzled him. He settled with the answer that cats were solitary. But this time, her absence tugged achingly at the fringes of his mind no matter what he did to get rid of it. This time was different. After Aizen's defeat and Ichigo's settling back into the human world, everyone had thought life would go back to the way it was, the way it had been before the war had torn their lives apart. It was then that sightings of a disturbance in the passage between the two worlds, Soul Society, and the humans' world had been noticed. In the past few months, the accidents of living humans pulled into Soul Society had increased exponentially, together with the hollows' world becoming more and more active. The reapers were panicking, but didn't want to upset the balance even further, which somehow resulted in Yoruichi's being sent to walk the outer reaches of the hollow's land to see whether the lead hollows were up to something. It had been decided that only she, with her unique form-changing skill, would be able to do this, though Urahara, extraordinary as he was, couldn't figure out why she had to be sent alone. The mission was dangerous, so dangerous he hadn't even been told about it if it wasn't for Rukia's owing him and telling him secretly.

Urahara didn't doubt Yoruichi's ability to carry out the task, but she'd been scheduled for return a week ago and there was still no sign of her. The council had agreed to wait one more week before calling the entire thing a failure and trying a new strategy. Urahara was fervently against the lack of a search party. But what could he do until they called it off, but wait? And anyway, Yoruichi would hate him for interfering with her business. So he'd wait a bit longer.

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><p>It was December when she returned in the dead of night. Urahara had been out to Ichigo's house, where he, Ichigo's father, Rukia, Renji, and Byakuya were discussing plans for defeating the hollows that, according Yoruichi's reports, were planning to attack in the form of some strange army. The fact that Yoruichi had reported two weeks ago was the only reason Urahara wasn't racing out to find her. Upon returning, grumpy from how his life seemed to never settle back into the long hours and peace he remembered from when he was younger, he plodded into his bedroom only to find Yoruichi collapsed in a mess of blood and snow in front of his now wide-open window.<p>

"Yoruichi!"

There was no response from the woman on the floor. She was lying face down, one arm twisted awkwardly beneath her body, but she didn't seem to care that she was applying pressure to a broken arm. Damn her for always overdoing everything. He quickly scooped her into his arms, marveling at how light she was, considering how she was wearing a tattered, yet thick white woolen cape. At the movement, she frowned and squinted at him.

"Thank God you're awake," he muttered, not denying his worry. He fussed over her for a while, using kido to heal the bloody gashes that littered her body and the obviously broken ribs that obstructed her breathing. He then yelled down to Ururu to get bandages and blankets (and quickly for God's sake). Yoruichi hadn't said a thing, aside from a few gasps of pain when he hit a tender spot. When he'd finally wrapped her up in bandages and all the blankets he owned (she seemed to be developing a bad fever), he sat back.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he exploded, his voice unusually quiet. He was surprised she hadn't passed out again. Stubborn as always.

Between painful breaths, she muttered back hoarsely that it was he who wasn't thinking. Guilty that he'd made her talk in her state, he ordered her to sleep. She complied and he watched her through the night. There was still something missing in him, but he was happy she was back.

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><p>She recovered from most of her injuries and the fever a week later and after being bedridden for that entire week, Urahara was surprised to find her sitting on his roof.<p>

"What are you doing up there?"

"Looking at the stars."

"You know, you'll get sick again without a coat."

"I have fur if I was cold."

"But you don't even have enough reiatsu to transform."

She scowled at him. "How would you know?"

He gave her his lazy grin. "Because I know you." Then, sighing, "Come down. Ururu's done cooking the stew."

"Don't ruin my moment, will ya?" She gave him her smirk. And suddenly, he felt more full than if he had eaten fifty bowls of the heaviest of stews. He felt complete for the first time in four months. It was indeed her smirk that made her irresistible, though he had to admit, Yoruichi was perfect. He climbed up and joined her, wrapping his cloak around her shoulders. She smiled again and her eyes flashed dusty gold in the moonlight. "Knew you'd join me."

He swore she could see his blush under his hat, could probably hear his heart pounding. "I'd join you anywhere."


End file.
